After entering the Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak mode, Han's facial features were reduced to three circular holes: two eyes and a mouth.
The Tailed Beast chakra repaired his injuries, but the blood sprayed on the ground proved Han had been seriously wounded.
The closer one got to Hatake Sakumo, the more dangerous the White Fang's blade gleam became.
Provoked, another tail appeared behind Han.
With four tails now visible, Han's features looked even less human.
A hard, sharp horn composed of Tailed Beast chakra grew from his head.
The Five-Tails was a pure white beast, a fusion of dolphin and horse, with five hard horns on its head.
Han charged at Hatake Sakumo again, yet he still couldn't break through the White Fang's blade gleams.
The White Fang's blade gleams could slice through Han's skin and flesh.
Every successful cut injured Han, weakening him.
After being hit twice more, Han went completely berserk, losing his reason.
Five tails appeared behind him, and his power increased dramatically.
The Five-Tails Jinchūriki had lost control!
Unable to restrain the immense power, Han raised his head, and black and red Yin-Yang chakra condensed before him into a Tailed Beast Ball!
Han lowered his head, about to hurl the Tailed Beast Ball at his most hated enemy, the White Fang.
However, taking advantage of the time Han spent condensing the Yin-Yang chakra, Hatake Sakumo had already used the Body Flicker Technique to close the distance, his White Fang blade gleam slashing towards Han's shoulder.
Fearing the blade gleam, Han had to twist his head to avoid it.
The Tailed Beast Ball shot off course.
The human-head-sized Tailed Beast Ball smashed into the distant grassland.
Following a massive mushroom cloud came the sound of the explosion and earthquake-like tremors.
Hatake Sakumo thought to himself that he must suppress the Five-Tails Jinchūriki quickly. If the Daimyō's eldest son were hit by a Tailed Beast Ball, Konoha would never again receive mission allocations from the Land of Grass.
The battles elsewhere were equally intense.
Yamashiro-dera summoned crows, using the Scattering Thousand Crows Technique to disrupt the Iwa-nin's vision.
He moved like a ghost among the crows, constantly ambushing the Iwa-nin from their blind spots.
With extremely solid taijutsu and the practical Scattering Thousand Crows Technique, Yamashiro-dera's chakra consumption was low, but his killing efficiency was high.
Faced with large-scale ninjutsu, the crows would nimbly gain altitude to evade.
Hayama used the Vacuum Sword, forming one-handed seals while swinging his ninjato, sending out blades of wind.
After mastering one-handed seal formation, it didn't affect his other hand or legs. He didn't need to stand still to perform ninjutsu, allowing him to fight while moving around.
Minato's two teammates were still Genin and hadn't mastered powerful combat techniques. The two cooperated, doing their best to contribute on the periphery of the battlefield.
Shinma's sword was coated with flames, increasing its attack range. He didn't need exceptional precision to seriously injure enemies.
His eyes darted around, constantly observing the details of the battlefield.
Shimura Kōko wasn't fighting with all his might, conserving energy and constantly keeping a careful watch on the Crown Prince to prevent him from encountering danger.
Amid the stalemate, Shinma saw a rock hurtling towards him.
This rock was about two meters wide, and its speed... seemed manageable?
Shinma's feet stumbled, and he was hit by the rock. He was sent flying back, towards the direction of the Crown Prince.
The stalemated battle line was instantly breached.
Iwa-nin rushed towards the Evergreen Sacred Mountain from Shinma's direction, charging at the Crown Prince of the Land of Grass!
On the Evergreen Sacred Mountain, the Crown Prince saw the fierce-looking Iwa-nin, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.
He gripped his horse's reins tightly, trying to prevent others from seeing his fear.
A guard said, "Your Highness, there's no need to fear. What Iwagakure and Konoha are fighting over is our Land of Grass's mission allocation share. Barring accidents, they won't harm you!"
Hearing this, the Crown Prince relaxed a little.
Yes, they wouldn't harm him.
Shinobi couldn't leave their villages for long periods.
Shinobi leaving their villages could be assassinated by other villages at any time.
The shinobi world was a dark forest filled with assassinations.
Every shinobi held a kunai in the absolute darkness, ready to assassinate or be assassinated at any moment.
During the Warring States period, there was a shinobi clan that controlled a small country and became its Daimyō.
But managing a country required public exposure, and soon that powerful clan weakened through successive assassinations until it was wiped out.
The fact that shinobi couldn't leave their villages freely was, in a way, not about imprisoning them but protecting them.
It was said that Konoha pioneered the Assassination Manual, and other villages compiled their own.
The trend of assassination grew rampant, greatly increasing shinobi casualty rates.
One or two Jōnin died every month within the Land of Grass.
Jōnin from the Five Great Villages, who were extremely formidable to the Land of Grass, could die just like that.
Not to mention publicly known shinobi like the Daimyō's Guardian Ninja; wave after wave of Konoha's Guardian Ninja had died around the Daimyō of the Land of Grass.
Watching the terrifying explosion of the Tailed Beast Ball, the Crown Prince wondered why shinobi were so bloodthirsty.
Some herdsmen even said the Daimyō's family's rituals were cruel? Compared to shinobi, how many people did the Daimyō's family's rituals kill?
"Don't be afraid, Your Highness! The Iwa-nin are charging towards you only to force Konoha to defend a critical point!"
Sure enough, the Konoha ninja abandoned their respective opponents and rushed up the Evergreen Sacred Mountain, trying to intercept the Iwa-nin.
The Konoha ninja instantly fell into chaos, with Iwa-nin both in front and behind them.
Hatake Sakumo glanced at the Evergreen Sacred Mountain and said, "Minato! You go help on the mountain too!"
Minato could no longer observe the Five-Tails Jinchūriki's Boil Release and turned to charge towards the Evergreen Sacred Mountain.
The mountain was short, with a gentle slope.
Earth-Style Walls, Flying Rubble, Stone Pillars, Earth-Style Rising Spears – common Earth Release ninjutsu were everywhere.
Namikaze Minato swiftly weaved through the ninjutsu. He tried attaching condensed Wind Release chakra to his shoulders and hips, finding the lateral movement effect excellent.
With a thought, he could perform a lateral shift without preparatory movements or exerting force.
This would make his taijutsu even more unpredictable.
Shinma pushed away the rock pressing on him. He had multiple bone fractures all over his body, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing Yamashiro-dera and the others forming a second defensive line on the mountainside, Shinma's eyes darted rapidly.
While dodging the Iwa-nin's Earth Release techniques, he retreated towards the mountaintop.
Reaching the Crown Prince, Shinma said, "Your Highness! Quickly take off your fine robes, put on the clothes of an ordinary servant, and escape down the mountain!"
Seeing the Konoha ninja before him in such a miserable state – one arm limp and clearly broken, his chest somewhat sunken, and his mouth full of blood – the Crown Prince thought Konoha was at a great disadvantage.
Exchanging a glance with the guard beside him, the guard captain looked flustered, less determined than before that the Iwa-nin and Konoha ninja's target wasn't the Crown Prince.
Who knew if the shinobi would still be rational when the fighting got intense?
If the Crown Prince were injured, the guard captain wouldn't be able to survive in the grasslands; his tribe would be uprooted by the Daimyō.
The Daimyō might not be able to deal with Konoha, but dealing with his own tribe was easy.
The Crown Prince also felt fear.
The battle between the Konoha ninja and the Iwa-nin grew increasingly fierce and bloody.
A Guardian Ninja he knew was crushed into pulp by several stone pillars.
Those Iwa-nin were also dying gruesome deaths one after another.
It was too brutal. Even killing dozens of cattle or sheep would give one pause, but the shinobi killed people as casually as drinking water.
The Crown Prince decisively jumped off his horse, hid behind it, exchanged clothes with a servant, and fled for his life.
Seeing this, Shinma thought to himself that his advice was completely well-intentioned. If the Crown Prince died, it could only be considered his bad luck.
Shinma turned and charged down the slope, continuing to fight.
He crossed blades with an Iwa-nin, their ninjatos almost at each other's noses. Shinma said fiercely to the Iwa-nin captain:
"Our people have already gone to get reinforcements! You won't be rampant for much longer!"
The Iwa-nin captain turned his head and saw four or five people riding horses fleeing from the other side of the slope!
The Konoha ninja were so despicable, actually disguising themselves as noble servants and leaving on horseback!
The Iwa-nin captain pushed hard with his blade, forcing Shinma back, then turned and made a hand signal to the two Iwa-nin squads behind him.
The two Iwa-nin squads immediately followed the captain's instructions, charging towards the few people fleeing the Evergreen Sacred Mountain.
After doing all this, Shinma was still not at ease.
He dodged several Iwa-nin attacks and stumbled towards Hatake Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo's Body Flicker was very fast. Currently, he and the Five-Tails Jinchūriki were evenly matched, neither able to gain an advantage over the other.
If Hatake Sakumo realized what was happening and used the Body Flicker to intercept the Iwa-nin, that would be bad.
Along the way, Shinma was hit in the back by another kunai.
"Lord Sakumo! We can't hold on! There are too many Iwa-nin!"
Hearing the plea from his side, Hatake Sakumo turned and saw Shinma's wretched state.
His left arm was broken, completely useless; his chest was sunken, and a kunai was stuck in his back.
Looking back at the slope, the numerous Iwa-nin had surrounded the Konoha side.
Hatake Sakumo frowned.
According to the intelligence provided by Shimura Kōko, the Iwa-nin had only sent one elite squadron.
If it were only 16 people, the 7 reinforcements Hatake Sakumo brought, plus the 2 Guardian Ninja, would have been more than enough to handle them.
But the intelligence discrepancy was huge; the Iwa-nin had actually sent 2 battalions!
Another Tailed Beast Ball flew towards them!
Hatake Sakumo swung his blade, and a dazzling blade gleam struck the Tailed Beast Ball over ten meters away.
The Tailed Beast Ball was sliced and detonated, the resulting explosive shockwave sweeping towards Hatake Sakumo and Shinma.
Hatake Sakumo helped Shinma up and leaped to a distant location.
He hesitated for a moment, deciding to first rescue Yamashiro-dera and the other subordinates, letting the Five-Tails Jinchūriki rampage for a while.
"Shinma, your injuries are too severe. Retreat to the rear and don't move. I'll handle the rest!"
Seeing that Hatake Sakumo went to rescue his subordinates on the slope first and didn't notice the fleeing servants of the Grass Country nobles, Shinma breathed a sigh of relief.
The White Fang's blade gleams were invincible. Whether it was Earth-Style Walls or Stone Pillar Spears, they were like withered branches and leaves before the Crystallized Lightning Release Chakra.
In just a dozen seconds, Hatake Sakumo had cut down two Iwa-nin squads.
Just as Hatake Sakumo turned to continue blocking the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, a horn sounded from the mountain.
"The Crown Prince is dead! The Crown Prince has been killed!"
Hatake Sakumo turned his head, his expression bewildered and horrified, seeing the Grass Country samurai charging madly in a certain direction.
A few people on horseback were fleeing from the other side of the slope.
Shimura Kōko suddenly appeared and said:
"Hatake Sakumo! To save Shinma, Yamashiro-dera, and the others, you actually let the Iwa-nin kill the Daimyō's eldest son!
How can the Land of Grass's mission allocation share be given to Konoha after this!"
Yamashiro-dera's heart sank.
The death of one noble wasn't a big deal, but if it caused Konoha to lose the Land of Grass's mission share, the blame would be immense!
But why did the Crown Prince appear in that place?
Hatake Sakumo was confused, and the Iwa-nin were equally perplexed.
Beside the corpses of five horses lay the bodies of five servants dressed in ragged leather servant clothing.
The Iwa-nin held a scroll in their hands, listening to the shouts from the side of the mountain. Looking at the faces of the corpses and comparing them to the portraits on the scroll, it was indeed the Crown Prince of the Land of Grass!
Had they killed the Daimyō's eldest son?
The Konoha ninja were too treacherous! Too sinister!
Didn't the Konoha ninja say these were people going for reinforcements?
The Konoha ninja had tricked them into killing the Crown Prince!
They were fighting life-and-death battles with the Konoha ninja to seize the Land of Grass's mission share. Having killed the Crown Prince, how could they gain the trust of the Land of Grass's Daimyō?
The Iwa-nin squad leader suddenly said, "We must capture that Konoha ninja who passed the false information alive! He must be presented as evidence before the Daimyō of the Land of Grass!"
The squad leader hurried to report to the Iwa-nin Battalion Commander, who agreed with the squad leader's judgment.
"We must capture that Konoha ninja who spread the false information alive!"
For a time, the chaos on the Evergreen Sacred Mountain intensified.
The deranged Five-Tails Jinchūriki continuously launched Tailed Beast Balls.
To protect the Konoha ninja and also protect the other accompanying Grass Country nobles, Hatake Sakumo had to devote his energy to intercepting the Tailed Beast Balls.
The Iwa-nin charged up the mountain like madmen, heading straight for Shinma.
Yamashiro-dera ordered: "Cover the retreat of the Grass Country nobles!"
Besides the Crown Prince, two tribal Chieftains from the Land of Grass had also come this time.
Since the Crown Prince was already dead, Konoha had to show sufficient commitment to protecting the two Chieftains.
Hatake Sakumo and his men fought while retreating, pulling back in a helter-skelter manner.
Seeing Konoha's White Fang holding the rear and unable to capture the Konoha ninja who spread the false information, the Iwa-nin captured some of the nobles' servants.
After simple questioning, the servants revealed everything.
A Konoha ninja had come to the Crown Prince and told him to flee quickly, which was why the Crown Prince left the Evergreen Sacred Mountain.
In reality, if the Crown Prince had stayed where he was, no Iwa-nin would have attacked him.
The Iwa-nin Battalion Commander looked at Hatake Sakumo, who was holding the line single-handedly in the distance, then at the out-of-control Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han, thought for a moment, and said:
"Stop the pursuit! Take these servants and the Crown Prince's body to the capital of the Land of Grass!
With the servants' testimonies and the intelligence extracted from the Crown Prince's body, it's enough to prove that Konoha framed us Iwa-nin!
They could even scheme to kill the Crown Prince just to frame us.
If they can kill the employer, what wouldn't Konoha do?"
The Iwa-nin stopped their pursuit.
They still needed to suppress the Five-Tails Jinchūriki's rampage.
Seeing the Iwa-nin withdraw, Hatake Sakumo and Yamashiro-dera protected the nobles as they left.
Along the way, Hatake Sakumo and Yamashiro-dera looked grave.
They wanted to discuss matters with Shimura Kōko, but he angrily refused.
Shimura Kōko's attitude was as if Hatake Sakumo and the others had caused the Crown Prince's death, leading to his serious dereliction of duty as the Guardian Ninja Captain.
Shimura Kōko accused Hatake Sakumo of making a serious error in judgment by rescuing Yamashiro-dera and the other subordinates at the critical moment.
Shinma, severely injured, remained unconscious the entire time.
Capital of the Land of Grass.
The Hyūga Guardian Ninja had long activated his Byakugan, watching the returning ritual procession.
His expression changed. Why could he only see the two tribal Chieftains and not the Crown Prince?
***
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